Why, in Chinese, is "all" expressed as something analagous to "one-cut"?
I have seen in older Chinese words, 一切(X), with X standing in for a character meaning "myriad" or "many".
Does "one-cut-X" mean "(from) one (to) many"? Is that the meaning of "cut" here?
一切
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一切
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:
These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?
The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?
The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
Re: 一切
This is by no means definitive. My book of Chinese character etymology doesn't cover this one in depth.
There appear to be 2 pronunciations for the character 切. The pronunciation affects the meaning. The 切 in 一切 seems to come from the 2nd pronunciation (qiè - qie4), which has the following meanings:
1. to be close to
2. to bite tightly; to clench
3. to correspond to; to match
4. (traditional Chinese medicine) to feel the pulse
5. eager; ardent
6. urgent; pressing
7. all; entire
8. must; by all means
9. main point
10. (phonetics) Short for 反切 (fǎnqiè, “fanqie”).
REF: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%88%87
一切(X) would be "all of (X)" (all of the myriad....).
There appear to be 2 pronunciations for the character 切. The pronunciation affects the meaning. The 切 in 一切 seems to come from the 2nd pronunciation (qiè - qie4), which has the following meanings:
1. to be close to
2. to bite tightly; to clench
3. to correspond to; to match
4. (traditional Chinese medicine) to feel the pulse
5. eager; ardent
6. urgent; pressing
7. all; entire
8. must; by all means
9. main point
10. (phonetics) Short for 反切 (fǎnqiè, “fanqie”).
REF: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%88%87
一切(X) would be "all of (X)" (all of the myriad....).